INSIGHTS FROM FIRST FOUNDATION

A First Foundation Blog

The Week Ahead – ANTS with FANGS

Welcome to “The Week Ahead” where we take a moment to provide our thoughts on what we can expect in markets and the economy during the upcoming week.

The 2017 Hollywood blockbuster this year has been ANTS with FANGS! No this isn’t related to Sharknado and you haven’t seen this movie in theatres but rather within the stock market for much of this year. The FANG stocks are well known, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google (now Alphabet). The same phenomena that we’re seeing here domestically is occurring within the emerging markets as well with ANTS, which consist of Alibaba, Naspers, Tencent, and Samsung. At the end of August when emerging markets were up 25%, those four position accounted for 36% of the gains of the entire index. If you add in the next six largest tech names by market cap within the emerging markets index that percentage shot up to 46% of the gains. The remaining 832 stocks within that index accounted for the remaining 54% of the gain!

At the end of October, FANG has gained ~48% year-to-date, the tech sector has gained ~32%, while the S&P 500 has gained just shy of 17% for the same period. As part of the investment philosophy here at First Foundation we strive to maintain valuation discipline and believe that paying a fair valuation is more critical than investing in the right assets. It’s hard to predict if or when the next tech wreck will occur, but by maintaining a margin of safety approach, buying investments at a lower price, allows us to avoid much of the volatility associated to a large scale correction. Additionally, as most investors have been chasing returns, we have been focused on overlooked areas within the investment spectrum.  

Next week we’ll take a look to see if inflation via CPI has gained any momentum and if the underlying economy is continuing to improve in various key Fed districts.  

Data deck for November 11 – November 17: 

Date

Indicator

Period

November 14

Producer Prices & Producer Price Index

October

November 15

Consumer Prices & Consumer Price Index

October

November 15

Empire Manufacturing Index

November

November 15

Retail Sales

October

November 15

Business Inventories

September

November 16

Import Prices

October

November 16

Initial Jobless Claims

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November 16

Philadelphia Fed Survey

November

November 16

Industrial Production

October

November 16

Manufacturing Production

October

November 16

Home Builders Survey

November

November 17

Housing Starts

October

November 17

Kansas City Fed Survey

November

 

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION    

Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by First Foundation Advisors), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from First Foundation Advisors. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. First Foundation Advisors is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the First Foundation Advisors’ current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request. Please Note: First Foundation Advisors does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to First Foundation Advisors’ web site or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefore. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.

Andrew Chan, CAIA, Co-Chief Investment Officer
About the Author
Andrew Chan, CAIA, Co-Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Chan co-leads the strategic investment committee and is responsible for overseeing First Foundation Advisor’s investment solutions platform which includes conducting investment manager research for both traditional and alternative investments as well as asset allocation guidance for portfolio construction. As a member of the investment committee, he provides market commentary and investment insights to clients. Additionally, Mr. Chan serves as a senior executive on the business strategy committee providing guidance on firm wide initiatives. With over 15 years of wealth management experience, Mr. Chan has played key roles across various aspects of investment and wealth management. Prior to joining First Foundation Advisors, Mr. Chan was most recently a portfolio manager at U.S. Trust where, in addition to his daily responsibilities, he served on numerous national committees including the investment manager committee, the portfolio model committee, and the strategic technology committee. He also served on the in-house strategic consultant committee reporting directly to the President of U.S. Trust. Mr. Chan is a graduate of the Wharton School Executive Program on Investment Management and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside. He is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA). Mr. Chan has previously served as an exam working group member and as an exam grader for CAIA. A member of the CAIA SoCal Executive Board since 2015, Mr. Chan has served as executive chapter head since 2017. Read more